As of today, January 1, over 40,000 convictions for marijuana possession have been automatically expunged (erased) from people’s records.
“As of this morning, our administration has marked 42,964 cannabis convictions erased, as planned”, said Governor Ted Lamont in a public statement. “It’s one step forward in ending the War on Drugs and giving our citizens a second chance to achieve their dreams.”
As part of the expungements, those who have had a marijuana conviction erased may now tell employers, landlords, and schools that the conviction never occurred.
“Especially as Connecticut employers seek to fill hundreds of thousands of job openings, an old conviction for low-level cannabis possession should not hold someone back from pursuing their career, housing, professional, and educational aspirations”, says Governor Lamont.
Here are some specific details of the expungements:
- Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-279(c) for possession of under four ounces of a non-narcotic, non-hallucinogenic substance imposed between January 1, 2000, and September 30, 2015, will be automatically erased on January 1, 2023. People included under this provision of the law need not do anything to make these convictions eligible for erasure.
- Convictions for the following violations can be erased if one files a petition in Superior Court:
- Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-279 for possession of less than or equal to four ounces of a cannabis-type substance imposed before January 1, 2000, and between October 1, 2015, and June 30, 2021.
- Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-267(a) for possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia for cannabis imposed before July 1, 2021.
- Convictions for violations of C.G.S. § 21a-277(b) imposed before July 1, 2021, for manufacturing, selling, possessing with intent to sell, or giving or administering to another person a cannabis-type substance and the amount involved was under four ounces or six plants grown inside a person’s home for personal use.
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